Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Another great idea from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine (Jan. 2010 issue).....

Ever heard of a Swap party? NO, it's not something you do with the couple down the street - get your mind out of the gutter!

Its a fun, free and green way to get rid of things you no longer want and take something you do home. Kinda like a yard sale with no money exchanged.

Here's how it works:

Invite a few friends and ask them to bring items to swap. Everyone will lay out their items (kinda like a flea market booth). Allow browsing time, then take turns choosing one new item for each item you brought. The only rule is that everything for the swap is clean and in good condition.

Tips: - Invite five friends to bring 10 items. - Send ten tags to your friends for them to use to tag each item. They can write sentimental values of t each item, little stories about the item, "selling points", anything they wish, and attach it to each item. - When guests arrive, give them 10 clothespins with their names written on them. They will use these to "tag" the items they wish to chose. If multiple people "tag" an item, put the pins in a bowl and draw a winner.You can also play the "white elephant" game with your items.- Have progressive swap. Each person will have their items at their own homes. The group moves from home to home to view items and have a different snack. Great for neighborhoods with close neighbors! - Have boxes and recycled grocery sacks for your guests to take their new treasures home in. - For anything that is left over, instead of your guests taking them back home, arrange for a local charity to pick everything up the next morning.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Challenge - Keep a zip lock bag or plain envelope in your purse or car. Every time you get a dollar bill in change back, put it in an envelope. When you get $50, put it in your savings account. In a year's time, you'll be surprised how much you have saved!

A local radio talk show host does this with every $5 bill he gets, but I think I'll start with $1 bills!